Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Book Review: Whisperby Phoebe Kitanidis

Since the age of three, when her sister first showed her how, Joy has been able to hear whispers. Whispers are people’s desires and wishes, the thoughts they think but don’t often express. Joy has always gone out of her way to try to give people around her their whispered wishes, but her sister Jessica isn’t as happy with her own ability to hear the whispers and goes out of her way to make people miserable by telling the truth they don’t want to hear. When Joy hears Jess whisper that she wants to kill her hearing and even kill herself if that is what it takes, Joy knows she has to save her sister at any cost.

This book has a little bit of everything. It has paranormal abilities, friendships, family, adventure, and even a touch of romance. I really like Joy’s growth throughout the novel as she discovers that not everything is as it appears to be and that sometimes she needs to think and act for herself. In the beginning Joy goes out of her way to make people happy even at her own expense. Slowly she discovers what Jessica has known, that even the best of friends may have selfish desires and thoughts. She comes to terms with the fact that she can’t make everyone happy all of the time and becomes stronger because of it.

One concern I had was that I thought having a young man enter the story with abilities similar to Joy’s was a bit of a stretch, but I did like Jamie, and in the end, was glad he made an appearance.

Overall I would say that this book is a fun fast read. I read it completely in two days, and am a very slow reader. If you can’t tell by the review, let me just say, that there isn’t much for me to say for this book. I liked it, it was entertaining, and a little different from some of the paranormal fiction out there. The ability to hear whispers was intriguing, but the best part was how Joy struggles to respond to those whispers. Joy does a lot of growing up in this short novel, and without hearing the whispers this could have been more of a coming of age story than a paranormal story.

Recommended for paranormal fans.

Cautions for sensitive readers: Some violence, no sexuality, some language.